Legal & General invests €173m in U.K. affordable housing

Legal & General has signed a €173 million ($175 million) Social Loan to finance 5,500 affordable homes to help address the significant demand for affordable housing across England. The loan was arranged by BNP Paribas, HSBC UK and SMBC Group, in a transaction with Legal & General Affordable Homes (LGAH).

The deal was structured as a social loan, which is available on projects that help tackle pressing social issues such as the delivery of more affordable housing. This is the first U.K. insurance syndicated use of proceeds social loan, and it adheres to the Loan Market Association (LMA) Social Loan Principles, with all schemes screened by LGAH’s Scrutiny Panel, who oversee the selection, evaluation and monitoring of investments. BNP Paribas acted as Social Loan Co-ordinator, Joint Lead Arranger and Lender; HSBC UK as Facility and Security Agent, Joint Lead Arranger and Lender; and SMBC as Joint Lead Arranger and Lender, with each bank committing €57.7 million (